By Glenn Dromgoole

St. James United Methodist Church kicks off the school/church year with a gospel hymnfest in August. We were privileged to be guests at the most recent one, invited by one of the members of the wonderful St. James choir, conducted by Alan Jones. 

The service was all music, except for a brief welcome, prayer, and scripture reading by liturgist Eddie Sides, and a prayer and blessing by the pastor, the Rev. Stephania Gilley. And an offering, of course. 

The music consisted of 13 hymns sung by the congregation, accompanied by pianist Lora Lynn Christensen, interspersed with seven special numbers by the choir and various soloists and ensembles, including a beautiful French horn solo of “Near to the Heart of God” by choir member Jerry Kingston. 

The hymns were the kind you don’t hear so much in church these days – like “Jesus Saves,” “Love Lifted Me,” “Victory in Jesus,” “O How I Love Jesus,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “In the Sweet By and By,” “On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand,” and “When We All Get to Heaven.”

I love to sing bass to the old gospel hymns. On the final hymn, “When We All Get to Heaven,” I went ahead and sang the bass part that wasn’t even in the hymnal – the way I remembered it from Sunday and Wednesday nights growing up.

These days more churches are inclined toward the contemporary “praise hymns” or choruses, and that’s fine. I’m sure younger people relate to that style of worship. And I appreciate the majestic “high church” hymns favored by the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and others. 

But, for one Sunday morning, it was nice to step back in time and remember when…

Thank you, St. James.

Glenn Dromgoole, who grew up Baptist, is a Presbyterian elder.